Symposium: Heritage and the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring has launched political shifts that were once considered impossible. The movement also has increased global awareness of the power of social movements and the potential of technology and social media as agents of large-scale change. At the same time, the human cost in some places, notably Syria, has been extraordinarily high and continues to climb. Moreover, damage to important historical monuments and urban centers and the looting of archaeological sites has led some to call the Arab Spring a “Dark Autumn” for cultural heritage.

This event brings together archaeologists, anthropologists, architects, architectural historians, and preservation specialists to explore the role of cultural heritage in a new and shifting Middle East. Rather than simply mourning the loss of important objects and buildings or proposing means to save them, the goal of this symposium is to ask difficult and unresolved questions concerning the heritage enterprise. In particular, the event will explore our desire to hold on to monuments and remnants of the past during an era of great upheaval and uncertainty.

This symposium is organized by Michele Lamprakos, University of Maryland, College Park, and Nancy Um, Binghamton University. It is cosponsored by the American Institute for Yemeni Studies, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, Harpur College Dean’s Office, Binghamton University, and the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park.